Pia party dress

Remember last post, I thought that I didn't need any party dresses. Well turns out I did need an other one. My sister and I are going out at new years eve and apparently a cocktail dress was required. The dress I made last year was pretty but not really a cocktail dress. So of course I made something else. I had some black pleated fabric in my stash and went out and bought some matching black silk. The pattern that I used is the Pia dress from la maison victor. To be honest when I first saw that dress in the magazine I was a bit pissed. I really liked the design but I felt that it was designed to sell there fabric collection because where else would you find a pleated fabric like the one they used? Turns out at the fabric sales in Rotselaar. And in black so that was even better because that made it easy to find a matching fabric. The dress is a fast make, not even a zip needed. The fit from La maison patterns is as always good, I made size 36. So that makes two items for the december theme for the social sew. 

Materials

main fabric: 12€ from the fabric sales

second fabric: silk 10€ from the fabric sales

pattern: Pia from La Maison Victor

Charlie skirt

Remember the bordeaux Pam blouse from earlier this year? That one was actually supposed to be part of an outfit. My aunt bought these two matching fabrics for me and my cousin. Of course it took me a year to start on the skirt. 
I couldn't decide what pattern to use, but eventually I settled for the charlie skirt from La Maison Victor. It is a nice A-line skirt with a pleat in the front and welt pockets. I made a size 38, I made the pleat a little bit deeper than what the patten called for. The fabric is a lovely wool from the fabric sales, but it is a thicker than most fabrics and I wanted to make sure the pleat stayed flat. 
I lined the skirt with a dark grey venezia lining. I just attached the lining to the facing that I made out of wool and I eliminated the pleat in the lining. Because of the thickness of the wool fabric I made the pocket out of lining fabric. The downside is that you can see the grey lining if the pocket gapes open. It would have been nicer if the lining was the same colour but they didn't have that in my local shop. All things considered I love the skirt. I like the way the skirt fits, A-line skirts are always flattering on my figure. The colour also goes great with the majority of my clothes. 

Details:
pattern: Charlie skirt, La Maison Victor
Fabric: the fabric sales, free
lining: venezia lining, local shop, 8€
zip: 2.65€

Silk Stella top

Glamour? Oh what to make... for Decembers Social Sew.

I'm not one to sew up a new dress for every holiday party. Even though I suggested this theme. I just don't have the time... And by the way do you remember what everyone wore last year? I don't. 

So this year I made a silk blouse to be worn with one of my RTW skirts. The Stella top is a pattern from the latest La Maison Victor magazine they used a satin fabric with 94% polyester and 6% elastane. I used a nicer (and cheaper) fabric with 96% silk and 4% elastane. The fabric is again from the fabric sales. They really do have a great selection of designer fabrics. 

I made a size 34 without any alterations. The blouse is supposed to be loose fitting and the patterns from La Maison Victor always fit me well. So I made the decision to start immediately with my nice fabric. I like the pattern a lot, but it is not one that I would use more than once. And the best thing is that it is something that can be finished in an afternoon. 

The nice thing with this blouse is that I could wear it more after the holidays, I'm thinking black jeans and a thick wool cardigan.  What are you wearing? Do you make something new for every occasion? 

Pattern: Stella top, La Maison Victor
Fabric: 96% silk 4% elastane from the fabric sales 30€

The quest for the perfect top: Sutton blouse

I forgot to post this a few weeks ago but this is part two of the quest for the perfect summer blouse. I liked the V-neck and the sleeves of the Donna blouse. But I didn't like the curved hem and the low neckline. So I tried to find a pattern that had a V-neck and a lose shape. So I 'bought' the Sutton Blouse pattern from true bias. 

Again I tried the pattern first in a cheap viscose fabric to try the fit. I made a size 4 and because it is such a loose chape the blouse fits great without any adjustments. I also loved the instructions and the way the blouse is finished. The blouse is almost as nice on the inside than on the outside. Even my grandmother was impressed with the finish of the blouse and how well it is explained in the instructions. She doesn't understand English but I showed her the drawings and she was impressed. She is probably going to make one herself next summer.

So what to do when you have found your perfect pattern? You make one in silk. The one is in a nice silk is perfect to wear with my new culottes.  

Now I'm desperately looking for an equally perfect pattern for a long sleeved blouse. If you know a great long sleeved blouse pattern let me know. 

The details:

Pattern: Sutton Blouse true bias (free with a giftcard from indie sew)

Fabric: €6 for the viscose fabric, the stoffenspecktakel and €20 for the silk, den boom

First time vintage: Butternick 9599

This months theme for the social sew is try something new. To be honest I didn't know what to make with this theme. So I waited for the inspiration post... and I still didn't know what to make. I'm not that interested in making jeans. I have tried a lot of tricky fabrics already, I just love all things silk. And faux fur is just not my style. 

I was already thinking of skipping this months social sew but then I remembered the half finished vintage dress that I started in June for the social sew but never finished. I bought Butternick 9599 for my first ever vintage dress! I think the pattern is from the early '60s. I chose the pattern because I liked the neckline so much. I also like the sleeves they have 3 little darts in them. I thought the dress looked vintage but still modern enough to be wearable. 

Because I had never made a vintage dress I choose to make a muslin of the top. I didn't make a lot of adjustments. I only lowered the darts a bit and shortened the skirt 20 cm. To be honest this dress took a lot longer to make than I anticipated. And needed so much fabric as in 2.5 m, making this one of my most expensive dresses. 

The fabric is a cotton blend with a bit elasthan. It has a tiny pattern in it that I love. The fabric is similar as the one that I used for my strapless dress.  It looks so wrinkled in these pictures, I did iron the dress before I took these. I can't iron the dress on a high setting because the fabric discolours. Lucky for me I did test this before I started pressing. 

I like the dress a lot but to be honest I'm not sure how often I will wear this. I still like the high neckline and the zigzag button front. Maybe I need to try and style this a different way? 

The details:
Pattern: Butternick 9599 
Fabric: Den Boom €45
zip: €3.65
buttons: free (grandmothers stash)

The quest for the perfect top: Donna blouse

I noticed during me made may that I hardly have any handmade separates. This blouse was the first attempt to try to find the perfect blouse for summer. It is not perfect. I liked the lose shape, the rolled up sleeves, the V-neck and the buttons. The fabric is a cheap coupon form the stoffenspecktakel, not an amazing quality. The stripes are not exactly printed on the grain, so that made it very difficult to match the stripes. 

The thing I don't like as much is the curved hem. It is nearly impossible to finish in a nice way. The neckline is also to low for my liking. The blouse looks nice with a pair of shorts in summer, styled casual.  But it is not something I would wear to work. 

The details:

Pattern: Donna Blouse La Maison Victor May/june 2016

Fabric: stoffenspecktakel €6

Buttons: free (grandmothers stach)

The best things twice

When I made my fist pair of Milly culottes I was unsure that I would ever wear them. Usually I'm never interested in trendy patterns, I prefer classic styles. When I made them the first time the idea was that if I never ended up wearing them I at least tried to make trousers for the first time. 

Little did I know that I would wear them to dead. I have worn them almost every week during the summer. They are so comfortable and the go with nearly everything. Like an A-line skirt without the impracticality of an actual skirt. The fabric of the first pair started to pill in the back and they where always a bit to large. So it was time for a new and improved pair!

The best improvement that I made was to chose nicer fabric. This is a nice black fabric from the fabric sales. I'm not sure what it is made of but it doesn't wrinkle at all. And it is black so these will go with even more of my clothes. I chose not to use elastic in the back like I did last time and I made them even smaller in the waist. 

The details:

Pattern: Milly Culottes La Maison Victor Jan/Feb 2016

Fabric: €24 The Fabric Sales

zip: €2.65